Amaryllis Challenge??

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Re: Amaryllis Challenge??

Post by Grandad »

Oh dear, I should have looked more closely on Amazon. My bulb has been dispatched but with a delivery date of 20 November. I hope that is not correct or mine may bloom around February. :(


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Re: Amaryllis Challenge??

Post by Horus »

You must always look closely with their delivery dates especially if it uses the words 'Free UK postage' which often denotes a foreign supplier. Having said that most of them hedge their bets and give a longer date than it actually takes.

I am still waiting for a small item that was described as 'Amazon Prime expedited’ but when I look at the delivery it is in the hands of the ‘Yodel’ delivery service, probably the worst one in the UK. :(
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Re: Amaryllis Challenge??

Post by Horus »

Grandad, looking at the one you have probably ordered it would seem to be comming from Holland, if so then they are usually fairly prompt with their deliveries :up
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Re: Amaryllis Challenge??

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

A delivery of Nov 20th is a ways off but not too bad considering we're at the last day of October now and, as Horus says, sometimes delivery dates gives you worse case.

And once these guys hit the light of day + soil + a shot of water they usually chug forward FAST.

I'll admit mine hasn't moved one iota YET but am anticipating seeing the first tip of the bud soon. Just hope I get 2 bloom stalks. The second stalk just makes for that much of a bushier nicer flower.

On another note I'm not sure where our amaryllis bulbs come from. I tossed the package but should have looked to see if it actually was from Holland.

Just south of here in the Mt Vernon area of Washington State there are fields and fields and fields of tulips and all manner of spring flowering bulbs. They're a major grower in that area. Possible my bulb came from there BUT it did come from one of the main grocery stores here so I'll have a look see to see IF mine did arrive from Holland or not.
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Re: Amaryllis Challenge??

Post by Grandad »

You may need to start talking to it LLL :lol: I shall to encourage it to get a move on and I shall also feed it.

My banana plant has a follower growing beside the main stem so something is going right......Thoughts.......must wrap said banana plant now that we have started to get night frost :lol:
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Re: Amaryllis Challenge??

Post by Horus »

Well how about this then? today I decided to pop down the local garden centre and pick up some potting compost. I decided to give it a try with ‘cactus’ based medium mainly because I reckon that the Amaryllis will do well in a gritty type of soil whereas my garden soil is very peaty. So there I was with my bag of compost when suddenly …………………. I espy the biggest Amaryllis bulb I have ever seen, so I bought it. It is about 120mm in diameter (about 4-3/4”) and 1.5 lbs in weight, if it flowers then I won’t need a Christmas tree. I still have the one ordered from Amazon to arrive yet so this year I will be entering two bulbs, it will be interesting to compare them both.

This is it next to a CD! :o
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Re: Amaryllis Challenge??

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

Woo Hoo H - you've struck the Mother Lode of Amaryllis bulbs! Looks to be a beaut! Does it have a name? Or what colour is it anticipated to be?

Few years back I was in a garden center and saw Amaryllis and it was like yours - the BIGGEST I've ever seen in my life! At the time I didn't buy it (not sure why) but they were honestly HUGE.

Other years when I've bought the packaged kit the earth it was somewhat peaty (I thought) however the growing medium in this years Amaryllis is like shredded coconut husk. It definitely isn't dirt and when you run it through your fingers it is quite sharp so your using cactus medium sounds the ticket.

Hopefully Grandad will get his Minerva soon so he and Mrs Grandad can enjoy over Christmas. Just like Christmas cactus these guys just speak winter holiday season x8) x8) x8) x:) x8) x8) x8)
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Re: Amaryllis Challenge??

Post by Horus »

Here we are then, number 1 which is called 'Christmas Star' is now potted up and has been commanded to grow ;) Looking at the size of that pot it will be about 2 foot high :ni:
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Re: Amaryllis Challenge??

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

Looks good and has quite a charming name. Given the size of the bulb and pot I'm thinking it'll easily attain 2'+ Hopefully it'll have 2 blooms stalks with 4 flowers too.
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Re: Amaryllis Challenge??

Post by Mad Dilys »

Horus is it a secret, or can you tell us the name of the Garden Centre and how much one of such proportions would cost? :a20:
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Re: Amaryllis Challenge??

Post by Horus »

MD it was just a local one and I don't think they are part of any chain, but it is quite a large one in its own right and the price was nearly £9 :a2: but it was so big I just could not resist buying it. :a17:
Although I always have cut flowers in the bay window, so I suppose I will get my moneys worth out of it providing it flowers :up
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Re: Amaryllis Challenge??

Post by Mad Dilys »

Sounds a fair price for this year, I've seen a lot advertised at £12.50. Mine in a china pot were £5/£6 from Tesco last year I guess they will be more this year.

We get weeks of enjoyment out of watching them grow, and their flowers last longer than most cut flowers, so I think we all get good value for our money. :up
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Re: Amaryllis Challenge??

Post by Mad Dilys »

LovelyLadyLux wrote:Was at the local hardware store today and saw that amaryllis are now IN. I didn't buy one as the bulbs in the boxes were about the size of tulips. The smallest I've ever seen but am sure I can find a more normal size somewhere.

Anybody up for having an amaryllis grow op challenge?

If 'yes' I'll be out to buy one :) And will document it growing.

On another note - of the ones I saw today there was red, pink and two colour PLUS another new one (at least new to me) called PICOTEE. White with a small red fringe all around the edges.
I've lost the plot here as to what exactly the Challenge is - I think to have the first one to flower?

As we are all starting at different times, and seem quite interested in each others Vital Statistics so to speak, I for one would find it interesting to know how long it takes from first watering to first flowers opening, how long the flowers last, how many blooms and stems per bulb, how tall ( one of mine was over a metre another was about 20cm) and the variety. Last yeat my first one opened at Christmas which was nice.

You guys have made a great start, I went scouting yesterday, but nothing was available I may be having the last one to bloom, along with the Spring Flowers. :lol:
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Re: Amaryllis Challenge??

Post by Horus »

There is no challenge as such MD, more of a communal growing of our bulbs and then comparing the size of the flowers, how tall they get, what colours they are, a general “Oooh! And Aaahing at what we get! When we compare images and notes, we may even get to agree that so and so’s was the best one this year, but its not an aim as such, more of a common interest.

MD, I also buy mine from the likes of Tesco or B&Q stores if I see them, but nothing so far this year, you watch, I bet when I go shopping on Thursday the shop will be full of them. :lol: I suppose the price was not too bad as the one from Amazon has probably cost me more when I add on the post and packaging cost.

My second one arrived today and looks positively tiny compared to the ‘monster’ bulb, measuring a puny 85mm in diameter and weighing in at a mere 13 ounces, but the bulb seems firm enough. My own guess would be that the ‘monster’ bulb will have some really big flowers, or will be very tall. Whereas the second bulb I suspect will have much smaller but more impressive looking flowers.
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Re: Amaryllis Challenge??

Post by Grandad »

I've lost the plot as well MD, BUT if I can get something to grow, no matter how long it takes, that will be a success for me. :lol: :lol:

I don't think this is a competition but we all grow a plant and then post pictures. Better get some practice in on picture posting MD ;)

Edit: Whoops posted at the same time as you H
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Re: Amaryllis Challenge??

Post by Mad Dilys »

I usually have my stuff delivered from the big local Tesco, they're the best in this area for fresh food and I like their own frozen fish, nice size proper flakes, not a wet mush......... but if I visit it costs me £6 each way for a taxi so I'm unlikely to be popping in very often. If I go to the nearest decent garden centre then you can double the cost for a taxi but it's a nice day out with an excellent coffee shop. :up
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Re: Amaryllis Challenge??

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

No specific competition - BUT - if one of us should happen to get 3 bloom stalks that would be a winner! OR if ONLY one of us gets 8 blooms while the rest gets 6 or 7 that would be WINNER ...... stuff like that so not really a competition per se but just a how they all grow, how they all show and whose is the nicest, tallest - stuff like that.
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Re: Amaryllis Challenge??

Post by Grandad »

Delivery of my bulb was quoted as from 2 to 20 November. It arrived this morning from Holland so I am in with shot of keeping up with you guys. It is not a bad size (nothing like Horus's monster) and I will pot and water this afternoon.
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Re: Amaryllis Challenge??

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

Looks lovely Grandad.

I wonder why these guys need to have the top third out of the soil? Almost every other bulb I'm aware of has to be X inches deep while these ones don't.

I also kinda wonder why they also need to be in little pots? When you have a look at their roots they're BIG. Just always curious as to the different growing requirements of plants.
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Re: Amaryllis Challenge??

Post by Horus »

Looks good Grandad and a similar size to the one I received from Amazon, don't forget to leave the top third out of the soil and put a bit of drainage in the bottom of the pot covered in soil to get the height and then pack it quite tightly to hold the bulb firmly in the pot. Only water from the top and don't get water in that cut bit at the top of the bulb or it can rot, keep the soil moist but not wet and start it off somewhere warm such as a bay window near a radiator. Once it starts to grow you can put it somewhere slightly cooler to make the flowers last longer, but always in a sunny spot. :up

@LLL, quite a few bulbs tend to grow out of the soil if you think of things like Onions etc. and they like to be confined probably because in the wild they are like Bluebells and Daffodils and grow naturally very close together.
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